


never could resist

by desastrista



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Cat adoption, M/M, Master/Slave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:51:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6670690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/desastrista/pseuds/desastrista
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fic request: "Erasmus and Torveld adopt a cat." </p>
<p>(Spoilers for Prince's Gambit.) Torgeir doesn't understand why his brother did what he did at Ravenel. Seeing the cat Torveld has recently adopted helps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	never could resist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/gifts).



> i spent longer than i would care to admit trying to think of a name for this fic that was not 'stray cat strut'

It is the day that Torveld is to leave Bazal, and there is no sign of his brother. He checks with the guards, he checks with the stable boys, but they have not seen the King lately. It’s only when he checks the wagons does he find Torgeir. 

His worst fears are concerned when he sees that Torgeir is talking with Erasmus. Torveld speeds up as he walks towards the wagons. But as he gets closer, he sees that – unusual for his brother these days – the King does not look upset. Instead, he is actually _smiling_ as he talks to Erasmus. 

As he gets close by, he sees the King lean forward and pet the cat that Erasmus is holding in his lap. 

 

***** 

 

Torgeir was furious when Torveld returned from Vere, and Erasmus was a particular target for his rage. 

It did not strike Torveld as quite fair. He knew why Torgeir was angry, of course. His brother had ordered him not to intervene in the fight for the throne of Vere, and yet Torveld had committed troops to Prince Laurent’s cause anyway. That Torveld had brought home a princely ransom in Akielon slaves was not enough to appease his brother. Patras historically had few ties to Vere, Torgeir told him, and therefore the kingdom had no stake in who sat on the throne in Arles. Torveld had responded that if Torgeir knew the Regent and knew what he was capable of, he would see the situation differently. But, as it were, since it was Erasmus who had informed Torveld of the Regent’s abuse, Torgeir blamed him for Torveld’s gambit at Ravenel. 

Torveld had a lifetime’s experience with his brother and was not particularly bothered by this latest fit of anger. Erasmus, however, was always eager to please, and had been at a loss for what to do. 

“Just...stay out of his way for a few weeks,” Torveld had told him. “My brother’s mood will pass.” 

He had underestimated what trouble Erasmus could find in only a few weeks time. 

 

***** 

 

It was a servant who informed him that Erasmus was spending a suspicious amount of time in the gardens. No doubt the servant, knowing Erasmus’s position as Torveld’s favorite, told him this with the intent to cast suspicion on the slave. Torveld, who believed Erasmus to possess all the conniving and treacherous nature of a lamb, did not think much of the news, but did decide to visit the gardens to see with what Erasmus was busying himself.

He found the boy not too far from the garden’s outer wall. Erasmus was on his hands and knees, so intent on whatever was by that wall that he did not even notice Torveld as he approached. Erasmus gave a small jump when Torveld kneeled down and put his hand on his shoulder. 

“Sneaking around in the gardens?” Torveld teased, but his eyes had already found what had occupied Erasmus. 

There was a cat. At least, it seemed to be a cat. It looked almost too small to qualify for the title. It was a small gray tuft of fur that just happened to meow at Torveld as he looked it over. 

“There was a litter that some of the servants found not far from here,” Erasmus said. “This one was the runt. No one was going to take it. The mother didn’t even want it. I – started to look after it. I couldn’t just abandon it.” 

Torveld looked over to Erasmus, who was looking quite seriously at the kitten. A curl had fallen in front of his face. “No, I don’t think you could,” Torveld said, reaching a hand up to brush the hair back. Erasmus just gave a faint smile. 

“Can I keep him?” he asked, the words all jumbled out at once. “He’ll stay outside, he won’t be a burden and he can keep away all kinds of pests --” 

If Torveld was to be honest with himself, he had never been particularly fond of cats. He much preferred dogs. He loved the hunt, he knew dogs well. Cats, on the other hand, always had a conceited air to them that Torveld disliked. 

But if Torveld was to be _very_ honest with himself, he had a hard time saying no to Erasmus. 

“Of course,” he replied. Erasmus positively beamed. 

 

**** 

 

The cat and Erasmus were soon inseparable. It followed him inside when it rained, or when it was hungry, or sometimes seemingly just because it felt like it. When it was inside, Torveld found the cat to be a tiny menace. For such a small thing, it was quite talented at making a large amount of noise whenever Torveld was trying to sleep. But Erasmus doted on it, and so Torveld had come to see its charm. 

The cat was inside when Torveld told Erasmus that they were to travel north. 

“My brother wants me to go to the family’s northern estates,” he said. “One of my brothers lives there now. He will be replacing me as the ambassador to Vere, and I will be replacing him in managing the estate.” 

“So you won’t be going back to Vere?” Erasmus asked. There was no missing the excitement in his voice. He smiled at first but then, bashful at his own reaction, he tried to rearrange his features to something more solemn. It was not particularly successful. Torveld gave an amused huff. He could not say he was particularly disappointed either with the prospect of no longer being ambassador to Vere. 

_I still don’t understand why you risked open war to aid a prince you barely knew,_ his brother had said. _I can only hope you will be able to do less damage further north._

Perhaps, Torveld found himself thinking, this change would improve his brother’s mood; it had certainly improved his own. 

 

***** 

 

“I see you’ve met Arsaces,” Torveld says to his brother, once he has reached the wagon where Torgeir is standing. 

The kitten has grown a little bigger in the few weeks. It still fits easily in Erasmus’s lap, but it keeps trying to climb over his hands and explore the wagon. “Named after the Akielon hero?” his brother asks. Erasmus nods. “Where did you find him?” 

“He was a runt. Abandoned. I –- my master let me take care of him,” Erasmus responds, his eyes flickering over to Torveld. 

Torgeir gives a knowing smile. “Ah yes, of course, I’m sure it was all my brother’s idea,” he says. And then, turning to Torveld, “You know, I always thought you were one for dogs.” 

Torgeir’s smile is too knowing. “What can I say,” Torveld replies evenly, “Arsaces is a charming cat.” 

At that, his brother just makes a contemplative noise. “No, I think I understand.” Torveld raises an eyebrow at him. “I think I actually understand you better now, seeing little Arsaces here.” 

“Oh?” 

“I think you can’t resist a stray.” 

And with that, Torgeir took his leave of Erasmus and Torveld.

**Author's Note:**

> Sumi requested an Erasmus/Torveld fic where they adopt a cat. Hope you like! It had to go through a few drafts before I was remotely happy with it. I'd always wanted to write a fic just dedicated to Torveld and Erasmus's part in Prince's Gambit, and as I was working off this prompt it actually seemed to fit.
> 
> I love taking prompts, if anyone has any please feel free to leave them in the comments or send me an ask on tumblr -- desastrista.tumblr.com/ask !


End file.
